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Because . . .

This is wrong!

The church says so.

The republicans say so.

Even the bible says so, you can find it in Noah 1:13.

From Japan With Love

Twenty-five million tons of debris from the tsunami in Japan last year is heading for the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. That's 25,000,000 tons or 50,000,000,000 pounds. "Most" of it is not radioactive because the wave action of the tsunami swept most of the debris out to sea before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors went all Kaboom! Fishing buoys already have washed up on the California coast the first of the flotsam to arrive. Predicting where and when more debris will arrive is difficult because even though 25 million tons is a lot, the pacific ocean is lots and lots more.

Eight Articles of Interest

A far flung smorgasbord of information today. I'll bet even my L.A. friends can find something they will enjoy.

#1 (Goodbye Japan?)
We may yet lose Tokyo. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant continues to discharge radiation into the air and the ocean. Recent (very quiet) announcements suggested that it would take ten years to fully contain the disaster and encapsulate the radiation effects to the plant site.


#2 (Some Facts About Entitlements)
You may already know this but here is a soundly written analysis of just who collects on all the government entitlements. Contrary to all the political rhetoric, the wealthiest members of the U.S. society benefit more from government handouts than do the bottom of the economic pile. Of course the high-end giveaways generally show up as tax breaks and not silly gifts like food, medicine or child care.


#3 (A Real Second Party)
The country is starved for a grown-up debate. This NYTimes Op-Ed slams the republicans pretty hard but I ran it by my favorite right-winger and he said: "Those pinkos at the Times are my arch-enemies but this time they aren't wrong." The piece is called: We Need a Second Party


#4 (Economic Non-Truths)
Three Great Economic Misconceptions from the Motley Fool, which of these statements are true? 


"China is the biggest holder of U.S. debt." 


"The U.S. is oil dependent on the Middle East." 


"Consumers spend most of their money on junk made in China and other Far East countries."


Think you know?


#5 (It Appears We Do Know What We Want)
For those naysayers, fools, idiots and elitists who ask: "What do those people in tents want?" How about an SEC comment letter. Yep, those dirty hippies not only can write, some of them are exceptionally well educated.


#6 (Occupy Reading List)
If you are an Occupy supporter or think you might want to be. Here is an Occupy Book Reading List. It's not perfect but an interesting look at why the Occupy movement started and why it's not going away anytime soon.   


#7 (Your Cat is Making You Crazy)
Not just for cat lovers or even cat haters, but a really profound look at cross-species parasitic transfer leading to behavioral modification. Your pet's bugs may be making you change your behavior. No really! A fun article that will make you think and maybe itch a bit too.


#8 (Who is Voting in the Primaries)

A Blunt but Bias Analysis of who exactly is voting in the presidential primary races.


"There is no other way to put this without resorting to demographic bluntness: the small fraction of Americans who are trying to pick the Republican nominee are old, white, uniformly Christian and unrepresentative of the nation at large."

Unfortunately this article stretches the numbers to make most of it's strangled points. Take for instance this statement: "In Florida, 84 percent of the state’s total registered voters  did not participate in the Republican contest." A shocking number if you didn't know that Florida holds a closed primary, so democrats and independents were not eligible to vote in the republican contest. Only 36% of registered voters in Florida self designate as republican, so factually an honest reporting would have said mentioned that 16% of the potential 36% republican vote turned out; not 16% of 100%.

Conservatism 1964 & 2012


One of my friends made the observation the other day that the 2012 election was not at all like the 1964 election. The '64 campaign led the conservative republican candidate Barry Goldwater to lose in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson. My conservative friend's point was that the values of the right in '64 were very different than those of conservatives today. More of the voters in the republican primaries are responding to these arguments than ever did in '64 and therefore a conservative candidate in 2012 would not suffer the same result that Senator Goldwater did forty-eight years ago.

Here is Barry Goldwater's take on today's brand of conservatism.

Cold, Cold Heart

While I continue to ponder and wallow in the future of this blog, I thought I might offer up a bit more of the reasoning behind this reevaluation. Don't turn away from this insightful and factual article by Kathy Kelly about her pending excursion to Afghanistan. I promise it will make you reconsider your day if not your life whether you are in Florida, Michigan, Brazil or Oz.

Cold, Cold Heart by Kathy Kelly.


"I tried so hard my dear to show that you're my only dream
                                         Yet you're afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme.
A memory from your lonesome past keeps us so far apart.
Why can't I free your doubtful mind, and melt your cold, cold heart?"

A Question for the Ladies

I mean this question in all seriousness. If you are a woman how can you possibly consider voting for the republicans? They are quite openly attacking you in thought, word and deed. This does not mean I suggest you vote for Barack, that argument will come later; but let's just focus on what the republicans are doing to revive the gender wars.

They really did hold a congressional hearing on contraception to hear only from all male religious leaders, several of whom are celibate. They really have targeted cutting funds from women's clinics because, of course, they might offer advice on birth control. Ditto child care, equal pay provisions and let's not forget the increasing incidence of rape in the military.

Oh right, there is the other half of today's question: If you are a man who lives with, cares for or loves a woman; if you have a sister, aunt, mother, niece or a female friend; how can you possibly consider voting for the republicans who seem to hate these women?
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That's some of Matt Bors' cartoon work above. If you haven't found him yet, he may be the Gary Larson of this generation.

Bay Bridge Closure

SUNDAY EVENING 8 PM - The Bay Bridge has reopened 34 hrs ahead of schedule.
Bridge Closure Presidents Day 2012

Guess I'll be spending the weekend in the East Bay.